Pastor moves to cancel Midland Beach mosque plan

Staten Island Advance file photoSt. Margaret Mary R.C. Church Pastor Rev. Keith Fennessy had signed a contract to sell a former convent, above, to the Muslim American Society.

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The pastor of the Midland Beach parish considering the sale of a vacant convent to the Muslim American Society has withdrawn his support for the plan.

But a spokesman for the Archdiocese of New York said the Rev. Keith Fennessy’s change of heart will not necessarily kill the pending sale at St. Margaret Mary R.C. Church: Two parish trustees also must vote against it in order to form a majority.

On Wednesday, Father Fennessy wrote to Archbishop Timothy Dolan that “after careful reflection” he had changed his position, withdrawn his support for the convent sale and wished the archdiocese to stop the deal from going forward.

The contents of the letter were conveyed to the parish trustees and a MAS attorney yesterday, according to archdiocesan spokesman Joseph Zwilling.

WITHDRAWS SUPPORT

“I have concluded that the contemplated sale would not serve the needs of the parish,” Father Fennessy wrote. “As a result, as Pastor of Saint Margaret Mary Parish, I wish to formally withdraw my support for the sale, and request that it not take place.”

Zwilling said he believes that in his role as pastor, and a church trustee, Father Fennessy’s change of heart is “significant to everyone involved,” but “he does not have the ability to simply veto and say the deal is off.” The sale is not final until requisite approvals are met, including an OK from the parish’s trustees, of whom Father Fennessy is one.

The five-member board also includes Archbishop Dolan and Bishop Dennis J. Sullivan, the vicars general of the archdiocese, as well as two lay members of the parish, listed on St. Margaret Mary’s website as Kerri Owens and Jack Sigona. Neither Ms. Owens nor Sigona could be reached for comment yesterday.

Rev. Keith Fennessy

Another consideration is that the state Supreme Court would have to sign off on the sale, to comply with the state’s religious corporations law, Zwilling said.

“The contract was signed, and this does not cancel that,” Zwilling said. “The next step is to see what the response is from the MAS, and I can’t predict that.”

“It is our hope that there can be a way the parish and the MAS can meet and reach an
amicable solution,” Zwilling said.

“Father Fennessy has taken some time to reconsider the planned sale, and has considered the impact it will have on his parish and parishioners,” Zwilling said. Though Father Fennessy offered his resignation at the height of the controversy, he is still pastor, and it is unknown when or if a new pastor will be appointed by the archbishop, Zwilling said.

Indicative of the poor communication between both sides throughout the ordeal, when reached by the Advance for comment on Father Fennessy’s change of heart, MAS member Mohamed Sadeia said he had not yet heard the news, though Zwilling’s statement was posted on the Archdiocese’s website. Sadeia said he would withhold comment until MAS had discussed the matter.

City Councilman James Oddo sent a scathing letter to the Archdiocese earlier this week, expressing his “profound disappointment” that the church hadn’t extended to him or any other elected officials the common courtesy of a “heads up” regarding the sale. If it had, community meetings might have been held to get answers to residents’ concerns before the situation escalated into last week’s tense community meeting, Oddo said.

The Archdiocese “just handled it wrong from the start,” said Midland Beach Civic Association President Yasmin Ammirato, who said she believes Father Fennessy’s letter was an attempt to “save face.”

“I guess they didn’t think that the community would come out the way that it did,” she said of the church.

Word about the sale was painful to residents, she said, because the neighborhood wasn’t told until the contract was signed, and parishioners who have supported the church for years felt blindsided.

The vacant convent building, which once housed 10 nuns, was built with donations from the parish community. The parents and grandparents of residents in the neighborhood took out loans and made monthly payments to help support the construction, Ms. Ammirato said.

“The blood and guts of the community built that building. At least they should have been sensitive enough to speak to the community, and they didn’t. ... That’s why people were so hurt and angry.”

Should MAS not go ahead with the mosque plan, some community members hope a builder will put up several homes instead, Ms. Ammirato said.

“We wouldn’t want to see it sit there vacant for the rest of our lives,” she said, but any proposed community facilities would strain the neighborhood’s narrow streets and limited parking.

At its best, the fallout from the controversial sale showed the community’s resolve, as neighbors pulled together to ask questions about MAS, its background and its intentions for the property, and wrote countless letters and e-mails to the Archdiocese in opposition to the plan. At its worst, it exposed bias, cultural misunderstandings and the fact that the wounds of 9/11 still fester nearly a decade later.

“It’s put a microscope on much deeper and complex issues,” Oddo said.
“If this issue is resolved — and I’m not sure if it is — it’s highlighted probably a much bigger problem than one specific convent in one specific community,” Oddo said. “That one’s not as easily resolved, and that runs deep, and it’s something that we’re all going to have to work on going forward.”